[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 115 (Friday, June 14, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27830-27831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12589]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. USTR-2019-0001]


Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Notice Regarding the 
2019 GSP Annual Product Review

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of hearing and requests to testify and for public 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
has accepted petitions submitted in connection with the 2019 GSP Annual 
Product Review for further review. This notice includes the schedule 
for submission of public comments and the date of a public hearing to 
review these petitions and products by the GSP Subcommittee of the 
Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC).

DATES: 
    June 26, 2019 at midnight EDT: Deadline for submission of comments, 
pre-hearing briefs, and requests to appear at the GSP Subcommittee 
Public Hearing on the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review.
    July 2, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. EDT: The GSP Subcommittee will convene a 
public hearing on all petitioned product additions, product removals, 
and competitive needs limitation (CNL) waiver petitions that it 
accepted for the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review. The hearing will be in 
Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20508, beginning at 
1:30 p.m.
    August 15, 2019 at midnight EDT: Deadline for submission of post-
hearing comments or briefs in connection with the GSP Subcommittee 
Public Hearing.
    September 7, 2019: USTR expects that the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (USITC) will deliver a report to USTR providing advice on 
the probable economic effects of adding products to GSP eligibility, 
removing products from GSP eligibility, and granting CNL waiver 
petitions during the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review. Interested parties 
can post comments on the USITC report on www.regulations.gov using 
Docket Number USTR-2019-0001 (instructions for submissions are provided 
below). Comments are due ten calendar days after the publication date 
of the USITC's public report.
    November 1, 2019: Effective date for any modifications that the 
President proclaims to the list of articles eligible for duty-free 
treatment under GSP resulting from the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review 
and for determinations related to CNL waivers.

ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made through 
the Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, using 
docket number USTR-2019-0001. Follow the instructions for submitting 
comments in ``Requirements for Submissions'' below. For alternatives to 
on-line submissions, please contact Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395-3475.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erland Herfindahl, Deputy Assistant 
USTR for GSP, 1724 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20508. The telephone 
number is (202) 395-2974 and the email address is [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    The GSP program provides for the duty-free importation of 
designated articles when imported from designated beneficiary 
developing countries. The GSP program is authorized by Title V of the 
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461-2467), as amended, and is implemented 
in accordance with Executive Order 11888 of November 24, 1975, as

[[Page 27831]]

modified by subsequent Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations.

B. Petitions Requesting Modifications of GSP Product Eligibility

    In a notice published in the Federal Register on March 25, 2019 (84 
FR 11150), USTR announced the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review and 
indicated that the GSP Subcommittee was prepared to receive petitions 
to modify the list of products that are eligible for duty-free 
treatment under the GSP program and petitions to waive CNLs on imports 
of certain products from specific beneficiary countries. The GSP 
Subcommittee has reviewed the product and CNL waiver petitions 
submitted in response to these announcements, and has decided to accept 
for review several petitions seeking to: Remove products from GSP 
eligibility for certain GSP beneficiary countries; waive certain CNLs; 
and redesignate certain products to GSP eligibility for certain GSP 
beneficiary countries.
    USTR posted a list of petitions and products accepted for review at 
https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/preference-programs/generalized-system-preferences-gsp/current-reviews/2019-annual under the title ``Petitions 
Accepted in the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review.'' You also can find 
this list at www.regulations.gov in Docket Number USTR-2019-0001. 
Acceptance indicates only that the TPSC found that the subject petition 
warranted further consideration and that a review of the requested 
action will take place.
    The GSP Subcommittee invites public comments on any petition it has 
accepted for the 2019 GSP Annual Product Review. Public comments are 
due on June 26, 2019, at midnight EDT. The GSP Subcommittee also will 
convene a public hearing on these products and petitions. See below for 
information on how to submit a request to testify at this hearing.

C. Notice of Public Hearing for the GSP Product Review

    The GSP Subcommittee will hold a hearing on July 2, 2019, beginning 
at 1:30 p.m., for products and petitions accepted for the 2019 GSP 
Annual Product Review. The hearing will be held at 1724 F Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20508 and will be open to the public. USTR will make a 
transcript of the hearing available on www.regulations.gov 
approximately two weeks after the hearing date.
    All interested parties wishing to make an oral presentation at the 
hearing must submit, following the ``Requirements for Submissions'' 
below, the name, address, telephone number, and email address (if 
available), of the witness(es) representing their organization by 
midnight, June 26, 2019. Requests to present oral testimony in 
connection with the public hearing must include a written brief or 
summary statement, in English, which you also must submit by midnight, 
June 26, 2019. Oral testimony before the GSP Subcommittee will be 
limited to five-minute presentations that summarize or supplement 
information contained in briefs or statements submitted for the record. 
USTR will accept post-hearing briefs or statements that conform to the 
regulations cited below and you submit, in English, by midnight, August 
15, 2019. Parties not wishing to appear at the public hearing may 
submit pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs or comments by the 
aforementioned deadlines.

D. Requirements for Submissions

    You must submit requests to testify, written comments, and pre-
hearing and post-hearing briefs by the applicable deadlines set forth 
in this notice. You must make all submissions in English via http://www.regulations.gov, using Docket Number USTR-2019-0001. USTR will not 
accept hand-delivered submissions. To make a submission using http://www.regulations.gov, enter the appropriate docket number in the `search 
for' field on the home page and click `search.' The site will provide a 
search-results page listing all documents associated with this docket. 
Find a reference to this notice by selecting `notice' under `document 
type' in the `filter results by' section on the left side of the screen 
and click on the link entitled `comment now.' The regulations.gov 
website offers the option of providing comments by filling in a `type 
comment' field or by attaching a document using the `upload file(s)' 
field. The GSP Subcommittee prefers that you provide submissions in an 
attached document and note `see attached' in the `type comment' field 
on the online submission form. At the beginning of the submission, or 
on the first page (if an attachment) include the following text (in 
bold and underlined): (1) ``2019 GSP Annual Product Review''; (2) the 
subject matter or the product description and related HTS tariff 
number; and (3) whether the document is a `written comment', `notice of 
intent to testify,' `pre-hearing brief,' or `post-hearing brief.' 
Submissions should not exceed thirty single-spaced, standard letter-
size pages in twelve-point type, including attachments. Include any 
data attachments to the submission in the same file as the submission 
itself, and not as separate files.
    You will receive a tracking number upon completion of the 
submission procedure at http://www.regulations.gov. The tracking number 
is confirmation that regulations.gov received the submission. Keep the 
confirmation for your records. USTR is not able to provide technical 
assistance for the website. USTR may not consider documents you do not 
submit in accordance with these instructions. If you are unable to 
provide submissions as requested, please contact the GSP Program at 
USTR to arrange for an alternative method of transmission.

E. Business Confidential Submissions

    If you ask USTR to treat information you submitted as business 
confidential information (BCI), you must certify that the information 
is business confidential and you would not customarily release it to 
the public. You must clearly designate BCI by marking the submission 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and bottom of the cover page and 
each succeeding page, and indicating, via brackets, the specific 
information that is BCI. Additionally, you must include `Business 
Confidential' in the `type comment' field. For any submission 
containing BCI, you must separately submit a non-confidential version, 
i.e., not as part of the same submission with the confidential version, 
indicating where BCI has been redacted. USTR will post the non-
confidential version in the docket and it will be open to public 
inspection.

F. Public Viewing of Review Submissions

    Submissions in response to this notice, except for information 
granted business confidential status under 15 CFR 2003.6, will be 
available for public viewing pursuant to 15 CFR 2007.6 at http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing, usually within two 
weeks of the relevant due date or date of the submission. USTR will 
make public versions of all documents relating to these reviews 
available for public viewing in Docket Number USTR-2019-0001 at http://www.regulations.gov upon completion of processing.

Erland Herfindahl,
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Generalized System 
of Preferences, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2019-12589 Filed 6-13-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3290-F9-P